Liberty Hill Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. You're rollin' past Liberty Hill Cemetery, and this ground has been holdin' stories since 1852, when the earliest settlers were just beginning to put down roots in the area. The gravestones themselves are the proof, weathered and quiet, marking a tradition that started before anyone had even thought to make it official.

Now, it would be more than two decades before the paperwork caught up with the practice. In 1875, John T. and Amelia Edwards Bryson made the first formal grant of land here as a community burial ground, deeding three and one-half acres to a board of trustees: T. N.

Bryson, C. C. Chance, W.

H. Poole, J. B.

Roddy, and T. S. Snyder.

Five names. Five men entrusted with keeping this place. And the Brysons and their neighbors, well, they didn't just sign papers.

They built a stone fence around that acreage with their own hands. Let that settle in for a moment. Stone by stone, neighbors working together to protect the ground where they would one day lay their own.

Later, the original plot grew. Land formerly owned by John T. Bryson was added, donated by Dr. and Mrs.

H. L. Fowler.

Then in 1932, the Royal Arch Masons established an adjacent three-acre Masonic cemetery right next door. They later transferred that title to the Liberty Hill Lodge No. 432, A.F. and A.M., and that lodge gave it in 1959 to the Liberty Hill Cemetery Association. Land purchases over the years pushed the total to more than twenty acres.

The funds to keep it all going came from bequests by Walter Gardner, Arthur Gray, and T. L. McDaniel, along with contributions from many other people whose names the marker doesn't forget to honor, even without listing every one.

In 1953, the Liberty Hill Cemetery Association was incorporated, with Dr. J. Gordon Bryson serving as president, C.

L. Chance as vice president, C. F.

Hickman as treasurer, and Mrs. Letitia Russell as secretary. From a handful of weathered stones in 1852, to trustees and fences and Masons and incorporation papers, this place grew the way a community grows.

Slowly, carefully, hand by hand, name by name.

What the marker says

Weathered gravestones show usage of this spot for burials since 1852, when the earliest settlers were establishing homes in area. The first formal grant of land here as a community burial ground was made by John T. and Amelia Edwards Bryson in 1875, when three and one-half acres were deeded to the Liberty Hill cemetery trustees: T. N. Bryson, C. C. Chance, W. H. Poole, J. B. Roddy, and T. S. Snyder. This acreage was protected by a stone fence built with their own hands by the Brysons and their neighbors. Additions to original plot include land formerly owned by John T. Bryson and donated by Dr. and Mrs. H. L. Fowler. Royal Arch Masons in 1932 established an adjacent three-acre Masonic cemetery, later transferring title to the Liberty Hill Lodge No. 432, A.F. & A.M., which gave it in 1959 to the Liberty Hill Cemetery Association. By later land purchases, the cemetery now contains more than twenty acres. Funds have come by bequests from Walter Gardner, Arthur Gray, and T. L. McDaniel. Many other persons have also contributed to funds for the cemetery. In 1953 the Liberty Hill Cemetery Association was incorporated, with Dr. J. Gordon Bryson as president; C. L. Chance, vice president; C. F. Hickman, treasurer; and Mrs. Letitia Russell, secretary.